1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a trap for catching small animals and more specifically to such traps that have a shield about the jaw portions of the trap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Normal spring traps that have their jaws exposed to the animal they trap do not operate effectively in trapping small animals such as raccoons or the like. If a raccoon is caught in such a trap and has the time to do so, it will chew off the trapped portion of its leg and escape. The reason a raccoon is able to do this is because the portion of the leg trapped by the jaws becomes numb. As the animal chews at the trap in an attempt to gain its release, it chews on its limb without realizing what it is doing.
There has been an attempt by at least one manufacturer to produce a trap that will prevent chew-out by a trapped animal. This trap is produced by D. P. Trap Company and consists of a small rectangularly-shaped box having an inlet opening on one of the long, narrow sides of the box. Bait is placed inside the box in association with a trigger mechanism that is triggered by the animal reaching for the bait to close the inlet opening. The bait is placed in such a position that the animal has to reach its entire paw and a portion of its leg inside the trap and when the spring mechanism is released, the entry hole is restricted to maintain the paw and leg inside the trap.
Although the above trap appears to be an improvement over normal spring trap mechanisms, it still suffers from several disadvantages. In the first place, the jaw mechanism is not readily removable from the trap, if its removable at all, and, therefore, such trap is probably not usable for prebaiting prior to the opening of the hunting season for the small animals desired. Secondly, it seems that under certain situations, it would still be possible for the animal to chew-out from the trap.
The present invention provides a small animal trap that is relatively simplistic in construction but yet overcomes the disadvantages described above.